Is President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana defrauding the world with his forest protection strategy?

Baiganchoka Discover Your Culture

Well, Janette Bulkan seems to think that President Jagdeo is selling his Low Carbon Development Strategy under false pretenses. Bulkan is Guyanese and was the former head of the Amerindian Research Unit at the University of Guyana. She now teaches and researches on international environmental and human rights issues.

In past blogs, I highlighted many contradictions in various reports that surfaced recently as President Jagdeo tries to sell the low carbon development strategy he has envisioned for Guyana in order to combat the negative effects of climate change.

In November 2009, President Jagdeo noted at a press conference in England that deforestation in Guyana will likely increase when he was questioned on the agreement between Norway and Guyana regarding the Memorandum of Understanding forest protection initiatives; it is a deal that is worth USD250 Million paid to Guyana over five years for practicing good forestry governance.

Recently, I highlighted the deal between Canopy Capital Investments of the U.K and Guyana allowing the former to market its Ecosystem Services for 5 years, through a guaranteed yearly payment to Iwokrama; it is a deal that is estimated to be somewhere close to 1.2 million USD according to Mongabay.com. The details of this deal have been less than transparent. President Jagdeo has not mentioned this agreement nor has the Iwokrama International Center acknowledge its